News archive 2002

Pic caption - (left) the adult
leopard male "Cosmos" during a
nighly patrol walk. credit: Dr
David Jenny. (right) the Diana
monkey - one of the species of
monkeys under threat of predation
by leopards in the Tai Forest.
credit: Dr Zuberbuhler.

A unique new institute is to be
launched by two leading Scottish
universities, combining their
expertise to address the many
elusive social factors
underpinning one of the nation's
most pressing areas of concern -
public health.

The first students to complete a
joint degree from the Universities
of Dundee and St Andrews finish
their postgraduate studies this
month with some students securing
PhD places to do some very fishy
research.

The world's Governments may not be
able to reach international
targets for saving plant and
animal species and their habitats
because there are no reliable
measurements of the rate at which
they are disappearing, the Royal
Society warned today (15th October
2002).

Scottish Enterprise Fife has
awarded
a substantial grant to a
University of St Andrews
economist's drive to produce high-
quality on-line and print
economics journals at a fraction
of the price of their commercial
counterparts.

Scientists in Scotland are
developing new studies into how
the latest laser
trapping methods can assist in the
safe and non-destructive delivery
of
therapeutic molecules into cells,
which may lead to new, improved
methods
for drug delivery.

Scottish Scientists have made a
key discovery which brings them
ever closer to finding a cure for
tuberculosis (TB) - the contagious
disease which currently affects
one third of the population of the
planet.

Experts in evolution and animal
behaviour will gather next week to
debate whether
chimpanzee 'culture' is any less
real than human culture - the
outcome of which may lead to a
rethink of the human evolution
process.

Over 20 students who have made the
transition from school, college or
work into University were
congratulated for their
achievements at a reception at the
University of St Andrews today
(Wednesday 25 September 2002).

The extraordinary role of a
Hampshire water mill in preserving
evidence about the construction of
a late 18th century American
warship has been revealed by a
Univeristy of St Andrews maritime
archaeologist.

A University of St Andrews
terrorism expert has produced the
first serious in-depth account of
the origins and workings of Al
Qaeda and how it mutated into a
multi-national terrorist
enterprise across the globe.

Almost 200 experts in the field of
dementia and Alzheimer's Disease
will gather in Dundee tomorrow
(Thursday 27th June, 2002) to
showcase the range of dementia
research currently taking place in
Scotland.

Imagine a beam of light that can
trap and manipulate microscopic
objects like the tractor beam in
Star Trek. Science fiction? No,
science fact, thanks to
the 'optical tweezers' used at the
School of Physics and Astronomy at
the University of St Andrews.

Classically minded school pupils
from all over Scotland gathered at
St Andrews yesterday (Wednesday
12th June, 2002) to take part in
the traditional Annual Recitation
and Project Competition organised
jointly by The Tayside Classical
Organisation and the University of
St Andrews.

Factors which affect the survival
or demise of small firms have been
revealed by a University of St
Andrews economist.
Professor Gavin Reid, together
with Bernadette Power, Lecturer in
Economics at University College,
Cork, have been examining how some
small firms can survive as long as
25 years and others collapse
within months of launching.

Chemistry teachers from every
corner of Scotland will descend on
the University of St Andrews next
week (Friday 7 June 2002) to learn
about the latest developments in
the world of chemistry and how
they can take them back to their
classrooms.

An Applied Mathematician from the
University of St Andrews has been
elected a Fellow of the Royal
Society - a highly prestigious
honour which represents the
greatest academic recognition for
a scientist in the United Kingdom.

Scotland's marine biologists have
been awarded a share of a $5
million international grant to
develop new instruments for
collecting information about
marine mammals and create digital
databases on the diversity,
distribution and abundance of
marine life throughout the world.

Three young boys from St Andrews
will join the cream of Scottish
musical youth when they play for
the National Children's Orchestra
of Scotland (NCOS) at a concert
tonight in Glasgow (Friday 12th
April, 2002).

A seminar highlighting the ways
entrepreneurial academics and
students can turn their research
into commercially viable results
is to be held at the University of
St Andrews later this month
(Thursday 18 April 2002).

*YOU ARE INVITED TO SEND A
REPORTER / PHOTOGRAPHER TO:*
THEATRE C, SCHOOL OF CHEMISTRY,
UNIVERSITY OF ST ANDREWS
AT 6PM, ON TUESDAY 19TH MARCH, 2002
THE WINNERS ARE EXPECTED TO BE
ANNOUNCED AT AROUND 7PM

A new Classics research centre at
the University of St Andrews is to
be formally opened this week
(Friday 15th March 2002) with a
lecture by one of the most
distinguished academics in the
field of Classics and Philosophy.

Pic caption: Pandora, an adult
gorilla which Professor Byrne
studied at Karisoke, Rwanda.
Her right hand is cut off across
the palm - only the lowest segment
of the thumb retains any movement
and her left hand has two of the
fingers paralysed.

The Sun is classified as an
ordinary, middle-aged star and yet
its magnetic field is responsible
for some of the most dramatic and
energetic phenomena in the solar
system, such as solar flares and
other eruptions.

Over 40 students from a West Fife
community education centre will
visit the University of St Andrews
this week (Wednesday 13 February
2002) as part of a drive to
encourage student progression
from community learning to further
and higher education.

In line with its continuing
commitment to staff development,
communication and consultation,
the University of St Andrews has
completed its first staff survey -
making it one of the first
Universities in the country to do
so.